In depth look at how Sean Dyche has got Burnley playing away from home.
A win against the current Premier League Champions.
A draw against last year's runners up.
A draw against the team that finished 4th last season.
Any manager in the Premier League from Jose Mourinho to Roy Hodgson if presented with these results would accept them in a heartbeat. If you told them that all 3 results would be collected away from home there can only be one conclusion. The team with such an away record must be the Champions of the Premier League.
At the moment this impressive run of results belong to Burnley. Currently 7th in the Premier League after 5 games only because they haven't been as impressive at home as they have been away. You'd expect the scales to balance back in favour of their home form but it's worth noting how they've achieved these results.
1) A settled squad
Burnlest lost Michael Keane in the transfer window but brought in James Tarkowski who has impressed so far this season. Apart from the arrival of striker Chris Wood much of the squad remains unchanged. The unity and teamwork is key to being difficult to break down away from home. This solidarity has given the team the mental fortitude to withstand wave after wave of attacks and stick to the gameplan.
James Tarkowski is filling in Keane's shoes
2) Defensive Tactics
Burnley are under no illusions about their qualities. They know they can't travel to the best teams in England and play them off the park with attacking football. Sean Dyche was formerly a Center Back and he has organised his team well defensively. Losing Tom Heaton to a shoulder injury is a blow as he has made impressive saves at the back. As these stats show the Goalkeeper has been kept busy on these away days.
Although they've conceded plenty of shots the fact that the conversion into goal is so low means the chances weren't clear cut. A result of sound defensive accumen.
3) Taking Goal Scoring Chances
Having scored 3 goals against Chelsea, 1 against Tottenham and the same against Liverpool it's not just been about keeping the ball out. Burnley can cause any opponent in the Premier League problems with their set piece threat. The inverse of the stats from point 2) show how Burnley's stats from the 3 away games. The strategy is to soak up the pressure and make a clear cut chance on the counter attack or a set piece.
4) A little luck doesn't hurt
Shots off the woodwork, last minute saves, blocks and clearances are the fine margins between a goal and a missed attempt. Although they will remain hard to beat away from home the weight of statistics suggests that they will suffer defeat away from home at some stage this season.
For now though Burnley deserve all the praise directed at them. For the wealthy and powerful clubs of the Premier League when the team from the bottom half of the table are in town, it's a chance to showcase their prowess. As wealthy spectators from each continent come to witness a display of their favourite clubs superiority - the underdogs are rewriting the script. A team assembled on a shoestring budget is leaving the Premier League royalty embarrassed in their own backyards. Sean Dyche is cracking their code, now it's up to someone else to break his.
Recruiting a lot players is not always benefit to the team as Everton, West ham united this year, and Queens Park Rangers a couple of years ago. A manager needs to take consideration on the balance between existing players and imported ones. To do this the manager must minimise new ones so that these guys able to settle down with the team smoothly. Otherwise a teamwork would definitely be a huge issue.